


Three Times

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: I'm a bad writer, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mostly Crappy Fluff, Why even?, rintori - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 18:45:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10702890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Just something I thought up after a tumblr post:'once a boy let me borrow his jacket and after i gave it back i heard him gushing to his friends bc it smelled like me'This doesn't go like that, exactly...





	Three Times

It was after practice when he first got something of Rin’s, though he couldn't keep it. Aiichirou was sure he had left his black jacket folded neatly with his things when he shed it to swim. Yet, while he wrapped a small hand towel around his neck to catch the water from his hair, he found it wasn't in the locker room where he had left it. 

He was vaguely aware of the other swim team members coming and going as he searched for his missing jacket. Momotarou offered to help him search, and despite Aiichirou’s polite refusal, he too began to look, but later left Aiichirou alone.

He eventually gave up and got dressed, feeling a bit upset about the loss of his jacket, but tried to shrug it off, as he could always ask for another. But, as he made his way to his dorm, he began to wonder if he would have to pay for his new jacket. 

However, his worries were stopped when he nearly walked into someone. 

“Ai?” the slightly rough voice confirmed it was Rin, and he looked up to see him pulling a somewhat concerned expression. “Practice ended a while ago. Where’ve you been?” he asked, an accusing lilt to his voice, and Aiichirou felt a small pulse of guilt, even though he hadn't done anything wrong.

“Oh, erm, I misplaced my jacket, and I was looking for it?” he phrased it like a question, rocking on the balls of his feet nervously. 

“Don't be so on edge. It’s fine. Here,” Rin said, untying his jacket sleeves from where they had been tied around his waist, then offered it to Aiichirou. “It's a size too big, but you must be cold, eh?”

Just noticing the chill in his fingertips, Aiichirou nodded mutely, taking the black fabric and sliding his arms into the sleeves. They hung a few inches past his fingers, but he didn't mind it in the least.

“Thank you, senpai!” he chirped at Rin who was making his way to his own dorm, who gave him a wave without turning around. Aiichirou was nearly shaking with happiness: Rin gave him his jacket!

On his trek back to his dormitory, he fumbled with the jacket’s zipper, and wondered what Rin was doing in the halls, but dismissed it as important captain-y business when he reached his door.

He opened the door, and was greeted with a grumpy Momo looking at a textbook at the desk without really seeing anything. He lifted his head when he heard the door open, and smiled when he saw Aiichirou.

“Senpaiii!” he nearly squealed, and Aiichirou squirmed a bit, still a little uncomfortable with the title.

“Yes?” he asked tentatively, walking over behind the desk chair, to see Momo was working with maths.

“You found a jacket! But it isn't yours… Whose is it?” he strung the sentence together quickly while stabbing at variable with his green mechanical pencil. 

“Try distributing these ones,” said Aiichirou kindly, pointing at two numbers in the problem, and then said, almost dreamily, “It’s Rin-senpai’s.”

“Cool! You got captain’s jacket!” he said, working enthusiastically at the problem now that he knew what he was supposed to do.

“Cool…” Aiichirou repeated quietly to himself. “Momo-kun, I'm going to be studying. Try to keep quiet, but you can ask me for help.” Momo nodded, erasing something with newfound fervor.

As it turned out, Aiichirou didn't study at all, only contemplated how the jacket smelled like Rin, rustic, and like Rin’s laundry detergent, soft. He flipped a page in his book once every half hour, the words just pretty patterns on the page that interfered with his thoughts.

Momo didn't disturb him once, as all of the other problems in that section were very similar to the one Aiichirou had helped him on, but mostly because he noticed the love struck look on his senpai’s face.

After a while, Aiichirou went to shower, reluctantly shedding the jacket, only to put it right back on when he decided to go to bed, with a limp ‘night’ to Momo.

He fell asleep with the sleeves pulled to his face, feeling sad he had to return it the next day.

He contemplated not doing that as he fell into slumber, but did when he saw Rin the next day.  
×××  
The next time he was offered something of Rin’s was at a small festival. He, Momo, and Rin were dressed in yukata, though he and Rin stuck to more traditional patterns, Momo’s was loud, a good fit for his personality.

Rin had asked Sousuke to accompany them, and he had said he'd meet up with them if he time later.

Selfishly, Aiichirou hoped that he wouldn't have any time at all, so he could have Rin to himself. He didn't dislike Sousuke, but it was true that he and Rin got along well.

Momo wasn't a problem, as he'd probably drift away to either stuff his face or win a toy at a game stand. 

So, resolutely, Aiichirou stuck close to Rin’s side as they walked, and, as he had suspected, Momo went to go impress some girls at a stand, shooting he and Rin a thumbs up as he ran to test his luck. He and Rin followed, watching the poor boy make a fool of himself, Aiichirou giggling as he failed, he himself failing to notice Rin’s eyes on him as he covered his mouth when Momo made a particularly awful throw at a target, his laugh coming out like a chime.

He then looked up at Rin, sufficiently snapping out of his daze and motioned for them to continue. As they walked past a candy apple stand, Aiichirou tugged on Rin’s sleeve and pointed, “can we?” he asked, his tone childlike.

Rin nodded, and walked over to join the line, and Aiichirou was bouncing a bit, impatient for his apple. Rin gave a fond look at him as they moved up in line, and Rin handed some yen to the vendor in exchange for two candied apples, one of which he handed to Aiichirou.

They continued on their way in comfortable silence, Aiichirou looking cheerful until something smacked against the ground.

His apple.

Rin looked down at a pouting Aiichirou, who then gazed up at him. “I'm sorry… you wasted your money.” he looked more upset at the fact that the money Rin spent on him went to waste than the fact his apple fell.

“It’s fine,” Rin reassured him, then draped an arm around his shoulder, and offered him his own apple.

Aiichirou hesitated a little, looking at his fallen apple, then to the one in Rin was offering. He took it with an appreciative smile, and they continued on, Rin’s arm still around his shoulder, sitting comfortably, as if it was just where his arm was meant to be from the beginning of time.

As Aiichirou was nearing the end of his(Rin’s?)apple, Rin began to direct them toward a stand with an assortment of cutesy and scary masks.

Aiichirou laughed at the one Rin picked for himself, some kind of red troll with huge teeth. Rin fastened it to be on the side of his head, then Aiichirou pointed to a simple fox mask with red whiskers that the vendor got for him, and Rin helped him put it on the side of his head.

Then, without warning, a firework show started. Aiichirou grabbed Rin’s hand and began to run to a small grassy hill where people were already laying down blankets so they could look up at the show. He looked around for Momo’s shock of reddish hair, knowing he wouldn't miss this for anything, and soon spotted him with a girl who looked to be laughing.

He smiled and felt his heart nearly stop when Rin laced their fingers together and led them to a clear spot to sit beside one another after laying down their own blanket.

As a blue burst of light spread across the sky, reflecting in Aiichirou’s already sparkling eyes, Rin nudged him with his shoulder.

“Hmm?” hummed Aiichirou questioningly, eyes still locked onto the sky, where a golden streak boomed loudly.

“You're cold.” he said simply, and brought the two of them closer, and draped a smaller blanket around the two of them. Aiichirou just hoped Rin couldn't feel his heart race as the fireworks produced a pulsing ruby red heart of their own.  
×××  
The third time he had something of Rin’s, no one was really supposed to know. It was dark in the halls and Aiichirou’s bum was hurting places he had only realised existed a while ago. Yet, with bites on his thighs, he trudged on, blinking his eyes to try and adjust to the light, or, actually, the lack of.

He finally made it back to his dorm, and tried to open and close the door as quietly as possible, yet, dense as he was, Momo was a light sleeper, and he woke nearly immediately.

“Sen… pai?” he asked sleepily, sitting up.

“Sorry, Momo-kun.” whispered Aiichirou, “get back to bed.”

“‘S okay, senpai, I'm already up.” He flicked on a lamp, yawned, then turned his eyes to Aiichirou, and Aiichirou cringed as Momo stared quizzically at him.

“Senpai? Isn't that…” he looked at Aiichirou’s shirt, which was not his at all.

It was a navy t-shirt with a small Australian flag in the top left hand corner. Rin’s shirt.

Momo looked scandalised.

Yet, at the next day's practice, Rin looked the exact opposite, smirking when Aiichirou tried to cover the two bites on his thighs when he went to swim.

Aiichirou had taken many of Rin’s things, so in turn Rin took Aiichirou.

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what I could've done better in the comments below!


End file.
